"No Grounds for Kim Seung-won to Step Down" vs. "Street Protests if Appointed"

[Anchor]

The confirmation hearing for Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won ended without substantial vetting, and the fallout continues. While the Democratic Party defended him as the right person for the post with no disqualifying factors, the People Power Party announced it will take to the streets in protest if his appointment is pushed through.

Reporter Kim Jin-woo reports.

[Reporter]

Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee came out in strong defense yesterday (September 16) to "protect Kim Seung-won," stating that the parliamentary confirmation hearing confirmed nominee Kim is the "right person for legal administration."

[Kim Ki-pyo / Democratic Party Lawmaker: The nominee answered faithfully based on materials and facts. No grave disqualifications that would impede the performance of his duties were identified.]

The Democratic Party contended that the hearing turned into an arena for political strife rather than a verification of qualifications because of groundless claims by the People Power Party.

On the other hand, the People Power Party raised its voice calling for "Kim Seung-won's ouster," arguing that the confirmation hearing showed he is the "worst Justice Minister nominee in history."

[Jeong Jeom-sik / People Power Party Floor Leader: The nominee's excuse about having a humanities background is evidence confessing to illegal solicitation. Unable to even make a proper defense, they exchanged tears and degraded the confirmation hearing into a melodrama.]

In a phone call with SBS, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said, "If the ruling bloc pushes ahead with nominee Kim's appointment, we plan to launch an all-out battle, including street protests."

The People Power Party is expected to make a final decision on outdoor protests after holding a public report convention at the National Assembly on September 22 to inform the public of the administration's policy failures.

Nominee Kim's confirmation hearing, conducted without a single witness or reference witness, wrapped up around midnight the night before last, drawing intense public criticism for "shoddy vetting" drowned out by political bickering.

The Democratic Party plans to push for the adoption of the confirmation hearing report as early as today, but reaching a bipartisan consensus appears unlikely amid the confrontation between the rival parties.

In that case, the president can set a period of up to 10 days and request the National Assembly to resend the report, and if that still falls through, the president can proceed with the appointment process.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.